I've recently become obsessed with BtVS. And it's strange to read this essay now that the show is over and things have actually gone the route of him getting his soul back. It countered the last arguement and supposedly now there should be no obstacle to their relationship right?
Ever think about writing a followup? You've really got their voices right and I'd be interested to see your views.

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Great story. Very well written and true to the characters. I could picture this whole scene vividly as I read it. My compliments to Avalon.

Awesome, this is a great fic but slightly repetitive. Buffy and Spike are in character nicely. Good points about having a soul too. Keep up the awesome work!

That was lovely *sniff* brought tears to my eyes that did.

Wow, deep. I love this! I've not actually SEEN the ep. Crush, I've heard the gist of it though, and this seems like a good follow through. Just out of curiousity, what was this interview with David Fury? Anyone care to tell me?

Very interesting, and true. Well done.

Interesting. Good grammar, good characterisation, and the back and forth of arguments is done fluidly. I would like to see a scene like this, but, call me cynical, I suppose it would be too long to fit between two commercial breaks. Or perhaps TV producers believe that the average viewer would get bored by so much soul-searching. I don't know.

But for a story, when all is said and done, it's exactly the right length (in my opinion). It ends on a very sad note. But what other end could there be? The argument comes full circle and ends where it began... with the fact that Buffy has her Opinion and will never change it nor reflect on it. Your story illustrates this very well, she is actually uncomfortable with the idea that she might be wrong about Spike. Well, I admit, Spike has tried to kill her numerous times so it's understandable when she's hesitant to forgive and forget (Spike on the other hand has always treated the fights as a kind of game). It's true... Buffy forgives Angel/Angelus without a moment's doubt. I wonder if Buffy knows that Liam, the mortal Angel, slaughtered a village full of people, before he was turned into a vampire. So either Liam the Mortal had already lost his soul before he was gifted with a demon soul. Or the souled Angel is NOT a "return" to his mortal self, and the whole gypsy-curse contained a bit more than a simple re-souling. I admit, Buffy does have a point when she complains that Spike doesnt feel remorse for his killings. But Spike has a point, too, when he remarks that Anyanka doesnt feel remorse either. If no-one ever supports Spike's wish to become more "human", more humane, by being friendly towards him, but instead calls him a fiend no matter what he does or how he does it, then I daresay that Spike will eventually get so frustrated that he gives up trying. I very much liked the bit about Quasimodo and her not recognizing Spike's Shakespearean quote. It illustrated the fact that Buffy is a lot younger than Spike and not as well-read and (again in my opinion) not as intelligent as, say, Willow or Giles or Spike. And she has a lot less empathy. Instead, she tends to make assumptions on the basis of her own likes or dislikes or misinformations. Since here in Germany we're still lagging behind (currently we're in the middle of Buffy S4 and Angel S1) and I only get to read the episode scripts to know the plot, I'm not sure if Buffy's opinion about Quasimodo is an actual quote from an episode or if you extrapolated from Buffy's known behaviour. But I seem to remember that in one episode Quasimodo was mentioned - Buffy and Willow in literature class? I think so. Anyway, the idea that Buffy thinks Quasimodo is selfish and brutish because he is ugly is a clever trick. Slayer-prejudice perhaps? Because it looks like a demon it must be evil? Buffy's problem seems to be that she sees the world in black and white, with her being the one who defines the boundary. Is expecting something in return for one's actions an evil act? I don't know but most people do it. It's called reziproke altruism. Of course, if you love somebody, you will do things simply to make him or her happy (but isnt that a return of sorts, too? If your partner were unhappy, you're not having the best of times either). But when I look at Spike and Drusilla, Spike was capable of giving, without expecting something in return all the time. What does Buffy expect Spike to be, a holy man? Gandhi? Hey, even if you're one of the rare people who do The Right Thing because they feel that it's the only right way to live, or because to them The Law is a kind of big glowing sign in the sky, or because God wants them to lead pious lives... even then there's a return of sorts; either in the way of a clean conscience (less stress, better health); or you feel better because you believe God will reward you in the afterlife, or that good deeds help you on the way towards finding Nirvana; or you gain a good reputation with your fellow humans. Of course, people seldom consciously acknowledge this, because if they did, we're call them Calculating Bastards. But it is true. And while i agree with Buffy's opinion in your story that having a soul means being able to feel compassion towards others, even complete strangers, and loving all living things (the teachings of Jesus and Buddha come to mind here - perhaps one should remind Ms. Summers that forgiveness is also one of the virtues), I'd like to point out that there's a person who used to give a damn about other people's feelings and wellbeing: Cordelia. So according to Buffy's logic Cordelia did not have a soul prior to Doyle's death? Oh well, sorry for rating :-). This fic poses several worthwhile discussion points. sometimes I believe that the 4th season of Buffy (spike as comic relief) has obscured the fact that vampires in the Buffy-verse are actually quite alien. Not simply evil humans, but demons, and to a bloodsucking demon, a living being IS lunch. The vampire's human personality becomes completely warped. It does not mean that the vampire's behaviour is excusable or tolerable (when you're one of his potential victims), but it becomes understandable. In that way, Spike's attempts might be more laudable than Angel's. Ok, that's enough rambling.

Wow! What a clever story! You write Spike very well. I keep thinking Spike & Buffy will never get together, but your story gave me hope! Keep it up!

Nice plot, but it gets a bit to boring. I skipped a few parts It's great, but it can be better if you erase a few parts. Sorry if offend you or anything, but it is very nice, believe me

That was a good one! I loved that! :)Keep writing!